Money Talks
WONDERWORKS and faculty of the SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND ARTS and the SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, RICE UNIVERSITY present an exploration of economics, innovation, and business.
15 June – 17 July 2026 | 10AM - 4PM, M-F | Rice University
To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted.
Alexander Hamilton, Report on the Subject of Manufactures, 1791
Optimization of the means of production for the common good is an underlying concern of post-industrial economies. So much so that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to three researchers for advances in the study of innovation and its influence on early-modern and modern economies. Yet as one of the laureates–Philippe Aghion of the Collège de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics–observed, the award also came at a time when neo-protectionism and steep declines in funding for basic research and innovation may well stall the astonishing progress the economies of Europe and the United States experienced during much of the post-World War II era—a period of recovery and sustained expansion for which John Maynard Keynes had such high hopes:
Let us not submit to the vile doctrine of the nineteenth century, that every enterprise must justify itself in pounds, shillings, and pence of cash income…. Anything we can actually do we can afford…. We are immeasurably richer than our predecessors. Is it not evident that some sophistry, some fallacy, governs our collective action if we are forced to be so much meaner than they in the embellishments of life?
Keynes, “How Much Does Finance Matter?” BBC, 2 April 1943
The bottom line: Money Talks will temper optimism with realism, theory with pragmatism, and foresight with hindsight, while taking into account the insights of behavioral economics and the social implications of economic policy. There’s much to think and learn about this summer, since economics, business, and finance and the innovations on which they thrive, are now —however strange it may seem–the stuff of headlines and movies, as well as dreams. Mornings begin with a lecture/presentation plus Q and A. Afternoons typically start with highlights from news on business and finance reported by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times and other sources, case studies, films, secondary presentations, and group activities. An all-day, out-of-town field trip to Dallas to visit the Federal Reserve Bank and Goldman Sachs is included.
Money Talks is open to high school students of special promise and ability who will be entering grades 10, 11, or 12 next fall or who will have just graduated from high school this spring. Admission is competitive – Wonderworks requires at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average plus a high level of achievement in relevant core subjects and commensurate scores on relevant sections of the PSAT/SAT or ACT.
Tuition and fees (including field trips but not parking) are $1000. Scholarships are available in the form of full-tuition waivers, but only for students demonstrating true financial need. Admissions are determined on a need-blind basis. No student will be prevented from participating in the program because of inability to pay tuition.
The program is held at the Rice University campus, Monday – Friday, except 19 June and 3 July. Money Talks is meant to be enjoyable, but is also challenging and requires focused effort and commitment.
Please apply online starting 1 January. To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by 1 June. Early applications are encouraged and will receive early decisions. Late applications will be considered only if space remains available.
If you have questions or need additional information, please e-mail info@wonderworkshouston.org.